


Battlefield

by nan



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-16
Updated: 2011-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-19 11:23:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/200288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nan/pseuds/nan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It never stops but that's pretty much what being a mercenary is all about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Battlefield

_Always got to be a hero, huh._ The taunt ran through Zell's head just as quickly as he ran through the deserted city streets. Ahead, he could hear the sounds of battle; the weird displacement of sound as fire or water or lightning appeared out of nowhere, the ozone smell of magics cast. Underlying it all was a perpetual growl, almost too low to register. It was enough to put extra strength in his legs, urging them to _hurry the fuck up_.

Zell had already taken a beating; blood that belonged to him was splashed across his face; blood that wasn't his gathered at his knuckles, making the leather of his gloves sticky, the metal slippery. He'd let Squall and Selphie run ahead, staying behind to deal with the soldiers that followed. The Cura he'd cast after the battle had barely begun to do its job before he was moving forward, trailing behind the rest of his team.

Skidding to a stop, Zell hissed between his teeth, eyes narrowing; Selphie was casting Thunder as Squall jumped at the monster, swinging his gunblade wildly. The monster, a blue serpentine dragon that looked way too much like Leviathan, was hovering in the air, its wings flapping gracefully. It batted Squall away with one massive, clawed hand while the lightning spell cut across it's hide, leaving the barest of burns and puffed up scales.

Zell vaulted forward, bringing one leg up and kicking the monster before smashing his fist against it's scaly face, near one bright, bulging eyes. The dragon roared and snapped it's head forward with surprising speed, connecting against Zell's chest and sending him flying to the ground. He landed with a pained cry and a muffled curse before getting to his feet. It hurt to fucking _breath_ and he rubbed his chest.

"Here!" Selphie said, casting Cure on him. Before it could do much good, the dragon tucked its wings close and ducked low, swinging its tail around to catch him across the middle and throwing him backwards. As Zell lay there, wondering which part of his body actually hurt the worst - and quickly deciding the answer was all, _all_ parts of his body hurt the worst, hurt like a mother _fucker_ \- lightning flashed and lit the sky; someone had cast Thundaga.

"Zell, _get up_." Rough hands grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. "Summon Quezacotl." The words 'you idiot' lingered unsaid at the end of the sentence and Zell frowned, holding his hands up.

"I was about to!" Eyes narrowing, Zell concentrated, feeling the winged snake-bird- _thing_ awaken and unfurl from his mind, exploding into the sky, wings flapping twice before focusing on its enemy. The sharp smell of ozone spiked, hung heavy in the air with the Guardian Force's appearance, and when Quezacotl began charging, electricity surrounding its body and focusing at its face, the air was so thick it felt like Zell was moving through mud.

The area exploded with power, light and sparks and electricity dancing across the ground, across the body of the monster and Zell instinctively covered his eyes. He could hear the monster roaring, its jaws snapping; he could also hear Quezacotl's weird trilling, hissing purr.

Zell knew when Quezacotl disappeared and it wasn't because things grew still, silent; his head felt, well, not really _heavier_ but fuller, the GF curling back into his mind, comfortably wedging itself in his memories. Zell took a deep breath and rubbed his head, as if petting the creature now sleeping there. The ache in his ribs abruptly disappeared and Zell looked up to see Selphie finishing a Curaga spell. Grinning his thanks, Zell turned to Squall. "Okay, we ready?"

Squall nodded and started forward. "Let's go," he said, not stopping to see if Selphie and Zell were following.


End file.
